Genre:
Contemporary Fiction
Description:
“Urban
sprawl has expanded the South Florida populace right up to the
boundaries of the Everglades, one of the most unique and forbidding
wildlife refuges on Earth. Now there's a savage new predator loose
out there, one that is motivated by hunger, and does not discriminate
between species when hunting for prey. It lurks within easy striking
distance of homes, schools, and parks and is nearly as fearsome as
the sinister forces responsible for its being there.”
Author:
“James
Freeman hails from a small town near the Great Smoky Mountains in
Western North Carolina. Growing up, James was an avid reader and by
second grade was going through his grandparent's encyclopedias
between monthly issues of National
Geographic and
Reader's Digest.
After
working as a musician, jet aircraft maintenance technician, and
various roles within the broadcast television industry, James began
writing in earnest. He has self-published a novella, Wise
Man,
and a novel, Boca
Raton,
and is currently at work on a new novel.”
Appraisal:
The
story starts with some interesting background on the history and
geography of South Florida near Boca Raton—hence the title. Having
traveled in that area on a number of occasions, I enjoyed how the
author explained the population growth around the Everglades.
However,
the novel itself didn’t capture my interest, in part because it is
almost exclusively narrated, often from an omniscient point of view.
This made the characters two dimensional and distant. In fact Frank,
a driving instructor who is the main character through the first part
of the novel, gets relegated to a supporting role once we meet Nate
who spends his life obsessing about conspiracy theories.
Once
the “Truther” Nate appears, the story revolves around him as he
discusses some of the more popular American conspiracy theories (911,
oil barons, the one percent etc.). This information is delivered
through pages of flat dialogue which is received by the other
characters with gasps of wonder and no opposing viewpoint.
The
plot is scattered and uneven with potential dangers introduced for no
apparent reason because they just disappear never to be mentioned
again.
Black
helicopters, black SUVs, and a stereotypical military “higher up”
are assumed to be controlling multiple conspiracies, most of which
fail to materialize or have any direct connection to the plot.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Very
few issues
Rating: *** Three stars
Reviewed by: Pete Barber
Approximate word count:
55-60,000 words
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